


Capacity for Love

by OhWormsNice



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers: Prime
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, Forehead Touching, Husbands, M/M, Optimus is lightly feral for a second, Reunions, continuity soup, dratchet - Freeform, robots in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28557678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhWormsNice/pseuds/OhWormsNice
Summary: Drift will always find Ratchet, no matter what.
Relationships: Drift | Deadlock/Ratchet
Comments: 10
Kudos: 126





	Capacity for Love

**Author's Note:**

> To avoid confusion, I am using IDW drift and putting him in Prime. We are conveniently not remembering RiD2015 exists for this.  
> I'm sorry, I don't know how miko became the pov character it just happened.

“WE’RE GOING TO JAPAN!”

Miko is as loud as ever. So very loud. The young girl clambers all over Bulkhead, grin wild and footing sure. Bulkhead’s giant hand hovers below in case of a slip.

“I cannot WAIT to show you Akihabara, and the Toyosu market. Haha would always get up super mega early to get the first pick of the fish. It's gonna be so totally rad!”

“Haha?” Jack asks from his corner with Arcee.

“Haha, mom same difference,” Ratchet furrows his brows at Miko. His normal frown set firmly.

“We’re going to Japan to investigate the signal we picked up, not go sightseeing,” Miko rolls her neck while groaning, UGH.

That's right, Ratchet didn’t _like_ fun, always _stop messing around Miko_ or _get off Bulkhead Miko._

“Get off Bulkhead Miko, we need to leave.” See!!

One day Ratchet is going to smile and have fun, and not while on energon crack. Sythgen, whatever.

Ratchet leers his optics at her.

Miko likes it up here, thank you.

She’s fine whe—

…..

UGH

Fine.

Only because Bulk gave her the “pleading parent look”

“Besides, the signal is coming from Mount Aso, not Tokyo,”

You have a _freaking space bridge,_ it can’t be that hard to go from Aso to Tokyo.

_No, I don’t know anything about how space bridges work._ What does that have to do with anything?

The Autobots all stand to attention when Optimus Prime walks in.

The leader silenced the room with just an entrance.

“Ratchet, where are we on locating the signal?”

His voice was as soothing as ever. He could read the phone book, and someone would pay to hear that. Maybe it's a Matrix thing, part of all the upgrades.

“We’ve locked on to it. Right now it’s near Mount Aso, on the island of Kyushu, Japan.”

Optimus turns to Miko.

“Japan, that is where you hail from, correct?”

If Miko could convince Boss Bot then Ratchet would _have_ to let her come with!

“I once went to Mount Aso on vacation, I would be a bitchin’ guide!”

Miko pulls out the biggest puppy dog eyes she can; brown eyes positively sparkling.

“I would be good to have someone who knows the customs,” Arcee comments. Hell yeah Arcee. Ratchet drops his head into his hand with a clank.

“Bringing the kids along is a bad idea–”

Raf and Bee stared at him.

“Our mission always ends in a battle–”

Arcee and Jack stared at him.

“This could be incredibly dangerous!”

Miko and Bulkhead stared at him.

“We shouldn’t do this.”

Optimus stares at him.

“Fine!”

Optimus leans over to Miko, who was on the upper deck. A soft smile on his face. He looked weirdly human. So similar, and so different.

Whatever.

“I would not have let you be left behind, not on a visit to your home country.”

MIKO WAS GOING TO JAPAN!

“Autobots, roll out!”

Japan was hot. Miko had forgotten how hot it was.Fuck.

Miko lives in Nevada. Navada is an actual desert.

She should be able to take this. Uuuggghhh. It's too hot to think.

Cascadia screamed around them as Bulkhead in vehicle mode carried the kids inside him to keep them from overheating.Air conditioning blasted on them at full power. Cool air plus the insolation from Bulkhead helped.

The green foliage made the forest floor become speckled with light.

Memories bled into miko’s train of thought

_Under that massive tree, eating sweet watermelon with Tou-san and Haha in the backyard._ _Sweet juice runs down her chin; she wipes her mouth with her arm._ _Haha scolds her while using a cloth to wipe the juice on her chin._ _Tou-san tickles her._ _Laughter rings out into the yard._

“How much further?”

Miko didn’t care if she sounded like a kid, it was so boring just looking at tree after tree. So many trees. Jack raises an eyebrow incredulously

_Jack shut up, I know we’re in a forest._

When were they going to see some action?

Arcee and Ratchet to the left of Bulkhead with Bee to the right. Optimus stood in front with Ratchet bringing up the rear.

Everyone was here for a change, except Raf. Who was stuck being grounded for breaking another RC car.

Miko volunteered to bust him out.

But no, he is _choosing_ to be lame. Staying at the base rather than coming with.

“I wanna kick some Decepticon butt, not just drive through some boring forest”

Ratchet looks at her with the same look her Haha would when she played music too loud.

“We don’t want to start a battle if we can avoid it. This isn’t a game,”

_Uuuugghhhh._ Of course it wasn’t a game. She knew that, but she was just so _bored._

“Just, they don’t do anything but cause problems. Megs is always: destroy this, kill that, cue evil laugh. I wish they would all just go _poof_ and go away.”

_“Shut up, shut your mouth.”_

“Ratchet!” the cry of shock came from Bulkhead.

_“NO,_ you know nothing of our people, of our planet. You see one bloody, violent stain in our history and think you know anything!”

Miko shoved her way out of Bulkhead. If Ratchet wanted a fight, then who was Miko to say no?

_“Excuse me,_ I’ve seen the battles, I was _IN ONE_ , and’ve seen how badly they hurt you guys. How can you be friends with those monsters?”

Ratchet’s optics zoom and unzoomed at Miko. The mechanisms in his arm whirl quietly He wouldn’t hurt her, Optimus would never let him.

An empty threat.

Miko looks up and glares at him with the type of judgement and audacity that only a teenage girl who has faced an Insecticon and said “bring it” can do.

"Not all monsters are born. Some are made."

Optimus?

“Shockwave used to be my friend. This war is because mechs like us weren't supposed to be”

Friends? How– that doesn’t make sense! Shockwave’s tried to kill him _multiple times._

“This war is…”

He gives out a big ex-vent. 

He looks– 

Tired.

He feels old.

Like stars.

“The story of this war is long and witless, and filled those who love with all their spark, and have thus lost it.”

The quiet was too much.

The grief was too much.

She wanted to scream, yell ,something.

Anything to get rid of the silence.

She didn’t even have the comfort of Bulkhead’s engine. Optimus’ face plates shifts and moves, and she could see him shove those feelings away.

He tucked away the sadness, but she knew it was there

Now, that's all she could see. Ratchet was his oldest friend. Is this what he saw all the time?

“Ratchet is right. You know very little of what you could about us and our cause. That is a failing on our shoulders.”

Ratchet looks down at Miko. Not with anger, but with an emotion she couldn’t understand.

Or ever want to.

She climbs back into Bulkhead, arms crossed and head leaning against the window.

How much did they know about the Autobots? Not enough apparently. 

Jack stared at Arcee, probably asking himself the same question.

“We should come up on the signal origin,

“Right abo–“

A blaster shot cuts Ratchet off as Bulkhead’s windshield breaks into a thousand tiny fractures.

Miko screams.

Her world is jerking and swirling around her as Bulkhead takes evasive maneuvers. The seatbelts fasten around her.

She’s going so fast!

OH THIS IS AWESOME.

Bulkhead, taking full advantage of his four-wheel drive, roared across the battlefield. He slams his body through a Vehicons leg, and Bee finishes it with a headshot.

_Not warrior class, her ass._

He’s raging around the clearing, tripping up and ramming Vehicons, till they shoot out one of his tires and he transforms to robot mode.

“GO HIDE.”

Miko and Jack slide onto the ground. His arm transforms into a massive mace and hits a Vehicon in the chest. Miko and Jack dart to the nearest hiding place so as to not get smashed.

A pile of fallen trees does just the trick. The battle is savage and incessant above them.

Miko’s heart feels like it's going to pop. Jack doesn’t look much better, pale and sweaty.

Why does she always beg to come along?

Oh right.

Because this is still the COOLEST.

“Why are you smiling?”

_Why aren't you?_

Miko pokes her head up just to see Bee go down hard.

A swift shot to the helm.

Oh God.

_He’s_ here.

Megatron.

Optimus– roars.

Not howl or scream.

A _Roar._

Booming and horrible.

Like someone playing opposite notes on a synth at the same time.

Like laying every horrible twisted sound together.

Miko never wants to hear it again.

_Ever again._

_Someone make him stop._

_Please._

“Optimus. What a pleasure to see you again,”

A sharp grin, clawed hands, and an ion cannon pointed right at where she was hiding.

_It wasn’t supposed to be like this._ _This was supposed to be a happy day._ The stench of burning energon hurts her nose.

She has to move.

_She has to_ **_move._ **

She can’t die.

She won’t be killed by fucking _Megatron._

She refuses to be another person for Bulkhead to mourn.

_She dives, t_ ucking into a ball, the bastler bolt clips her hair.

The smell makes her gag.

“DECEPTICONS, DESTROY THEM”

More Vehicons come pouring out of the woods.

“This was an ambush! Fall back!” Ratchet said.

His head furiously turned around looking for his allies among the energon and gun fire–

It dropped from the sky like damnation.

Damnation for the Vehicon, that is. 

A freaking sword piercing directly through the Vehicon’s head.

Woah.

_Cool._

Blue energon stains white armor. The new mech pulled his sword from the Vehicon and leaped into the fray like a bot possessed.

Hacking and slashing with terrible beauty–

–cleaves a vehicon in two lengthways–

stabs one through the spark–

–drives another right into Bulkhead’s fist–

–light and powerful–

–beautiful and terrifying–

Each swing of his sword stained the ground.

Who _was_ he?

_… can we keep him?_

The battle _seethed_ and spat out death till Megatron was the only one standing.

“You have won the day, but the war is far from over.”

_Just get outta here ya’ big lug of bolts._

His jet mode isn’t less terrifying, but when it's running away, it's a little less imposing.

_“Yeah,_ that’s right Megadork _run away.”_

Miko shakes her fist in the direction that Megatron flew off.

The spilt energon steams on the rapidly wilting grass.

Hot air feels even worse after coming down from an adrenaline high.

_“Drift?”_

It's so quiet that Miko almost didn’t hear it.

Well well well, Ratchet knows who this is?

He’s _Drift._ According to Ratchet, at least.

Well, he's going to have to introduce her because _Drift_ is _so totally awesome._

It seems, with his expression, Ratchet was just as surprised at the new bot as she was.

The other bot made eye contact with ratchet and the cool, serious face shatters into one of joy.

_“RATTY!”_

What.

The white and orange mech dashes over and envelopes Drift in a hug, spinning around before putting him down.

Ratchet. _Laughs._

_HELLO??_

_WHAT?_

Not his pessimistic snort or manic sythgen fueled cackle It’s giddy and surprised and makes him seem _young._

Drift gently places his forehead on Ratchet’s and raises his hand to cup his face.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” Ratchet's hand came up to cover Drift’s where it lay on his cheek. 

His eyes brimming with hope and disbelief. The smile slides from his face.

“I thought you were dead,” he pulls his head away from Drift to stare at the ground.

The terrible pain on Drift's face made even Miko’s heart ache.

“I’ll always find my way to you, Ratty. Rust would eat my spark before I would’ve stopped.”

His words like cotton candy, soft and delicate; like cotton puff and slightly playful.

“Sparks don’t rust Drift.”

“Exactly.”

They laugh together, voices like blue and orange. Like complementary colors, nice on their own but together they enhance the each other.

This can’t be Ratchet.

This has to be a clone or _MIND CONTROL._

_SOMETHING._

Ratchet was _grumpy_ and _serious_ and didn’t _smile_ and be all _gooey._

“It’s good to see you again, Drift,” Arcee walks over with Bee using her as a crutch.

The scorch marks from a blaster hit scrape his paint.

“Bumblebee!” Ratchet left Drift to check Bee’s injury.

Surgeon hands skillfully start patching Bee’s side back together.

His hands always looked strange, too many seams and joints. Some real uncanny valley stuff.

Him laughing and smiling really didn’t help the situation.

Drift looked at him while fixing Bee with a dreamy dopey look.

God, they really were in love.

Gross.

“We have to go back to base, Bumblebee needs energon if his self-repair is going to function correctly.”

He slings Bumblebee’s other arm over his shoulder and commed Raf for a ground bridge.

“Autobots, let’s go home and welcome our new comrade.”

Optimus clasps Drift on the shoulder in his Optimus way.

Miko would never complain about the AC in the base being too cold ever again.

Uuuggghhh, the floor was so cool and amazing.

Good floor. The floor is her new best friend.

“Miko, you need to get up, someone is going to step on you.” _Great,_ June is here now.

“The bots have like, _programming_ or whatever to not step on humans.”

Something like that, she wasn’t paying attention when Ratchet explained it.

“I would never imagine stepping on a human.”

_Oh, hello._

HI.

“OH MY GOD, YOU WERE SO COOL! When you dropped out of the sky straight onto that Decepticon, and when you pushed that other one right into Bulkhead’s fists? So wicked!”

Drift chuckled softly at the young girl, sitting down to better talk with her.

“You and Ratchet! I’ve never seen him so, so, not grumpy! How did you do that?”

“He’s my Conjunx Endura.”

Conjunx Enwhata?

“He’s my _husband.”_

Oh.

OH.

That explains soooo much. Ratchet’s just grumpy because he _misses his husband._

That’s so _mushy._ Miko will never let him forget it.

“So, do you have any embarrassing stories about Ratchet?”

_In_ rolled the grumpy bot himself.

“You will tell her _NOTHING.”_

_Awe c’mon Doc Bot, no harm in a few stories._

Ratchet put his scalpul next to the cord of the loft tv.

_Yeesh, Okay, much harm._

“I’ll tell you later,” Drift whispers to her.

Miko knew she was going to like him.


End file.
